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Megan Zhang 张嘉文

@meganjzhang

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🥘 the stories behind Chinese food
☀️ pre-order EATING WITH THE SUN, out Jan '27
✍️ in BBC, WaPo, The Cut, etc
📝 editor alum @testkitchen @saveurmag

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Though I never would have admitted it as a kid, I so wanted to know China better when I was growing up. I wanted to understand where I came from, and the Chinese calendar gave me what felt like an entry point. Even in the U.S., I could look forward to holidays and what they brought: zongzi when the Dragon Boat Festival approached, mooncakes when Mid-Autumn arrived. They made my heritage feel briefly tangible, knowable.

As I got older, I realized it wasn’t only holidays that followed a cyclical rhythm; so did everyday Chinese eating. What my parents chose to cook was inseparable from the weather outside, from bitter melon in summer to roast duck in autumn to lamb dumplings in winter. Their choices reflected generations of seasonal wisdom shaped by medicine, agricultural cycles, and folklore—a sensibility that continues to underpin Chinese home cooking today.

So I wrote a memoir structured around the Chinese calendar’s 24 micro-seasons, called solar terms, each of which ushers in different folk customs and food traditions. Guided by the themes of each solar term, I wrote 24 essays (each with a recipe) that trace the arc of the Chinese year, weaving together seasonal cosmology, cultural history, home cooking, and my travels in China. The book is a search to better understand not only the place my family comes from, but also the seasonal philosophies and diasporic lens through which I’ve come to know it.

It’s been many days of staring at a screen until my eyes were dry, some days when eking out 85,000 words that would tell my stories vulnerably and interpret Chinese tradition with care felt sisyphean. Every so often, words would, mercifully, come. I’d do it all over again. I’m grateful and daunted that EATING WITH THE SUN is out January 2027 through @simonandschuster @gallerybooks ☀️ A link is in the bio, if you feel moved to pre-order (the best way to support a new book!)

P.S. Thank you @laurenmortimerillustration for distilling the inside of my brain into this cover by @meganjzhang

Anytime I reach for a cold sparkling water I can hear the reproach of a thousand ancestors

#hotwater #chinesemedicine

Poster from chineseposters.net by @meganjzhang

💛 by @meganjzhang

I love the names of the solar terms. Rain Water. Awakening Insects. Grain in Ear!

Do you know what solar term you were born in?

Eating With The Sun is coming January 26 everywhere books are sold!

#24solarterms

@gallerybooks @simonandschuster by @meganjzhang

Basking in the last rays of late summer with the most summery drink I know!

The watermelon juices we had in China were typically just watermelon, but I also like adding some pizzazz ⚡️

To make sure the watermelon is completely cold before blending, refrigerate for at least 1 hour before blending.

1 tablespoon chile-lime seasoning, such as Tajín
4 cups ripe seedless watermelon, cubed and chilled (about 20 ounces)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 1 lime)
Pinch kosher salt
1-2 teaspoons honey (optional)
Lime wedges, for garnish (optional)

1. Spread the chile-lime seasoning in a small saucer. Run a lime wedge around half the rim of two serving glasses, then dip the moistened rims in the chile-lime seasoning to coat.

2. To a blender, add the watermelon, lime juice, and salt and blend on high until smooth, 15-30 seconds. (If the mixture needs help coming together, add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Taste and, if you prefer more sweetness, add honey and blend for a few seconds to incorporate.

3. Pour into serving glasses. Garnish each glass with a lime wedge, if using, and serve.

#chinesemedicine #watermelon #watermelonjuice #summerrecipes #summerfruit by @meganjzhang

Why sharing is caring unless it’s a pear

#chineselanguage #learnmandarin #autumnfruit #asianpears by @meganjzhang

broccoli = gai lan = broccoli?

🥦🥬

#chineselanguage #vegetables #broccoli #gailan #learnchinese by @meganjzhang

I swear I did not plan the tiger shirt but I’ll take it!

#solarterm #chinesecalendar #seasonaleating #autumniscoming by @meganjzhang

How do you season a boiled egg before you peel it? 🤔 Try the recipe from @meganjzhang, up now on @washingtonpost

#chinesecooking #teaegg #chineserecipe by @meganjzhang

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve heard my mom, aunts, and grandmas go on about how nourishing and restorative dried jujubes are. They’re considered especially beneficial for Qi and blood in Chinese wellness traditions. So of course my parents planted a tree 🌳

#chinesemedicine #traditionalchinesemedicine #jujube #autumnfruit #chinesecooking by @meganjzhang

It’s still hot but according to the solar terms it’s already the Beginning of Autumn (立秋)! I don’t make the rules!

#24solarterms #eatingwiththesun #chinesecalendar #chineseculture #seasons by @meganjzhang

Don’t lose the watermelon!

#chineselanguage #learnmandarin #watermelon #chineseculture #idioms by @meganjzhang